The Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing identified a current trend in higher education, and in nursing programs at OHSU specifically: pressure to provide high quality online and hybrid programs and courses to students in our graduate and undergraduate programs. Twenty-seven percent of Masters Programs in US schools of nursing offer courses online (Brooks & Morse, 2015) as do the majority of RN-BS programs. Further, a growing number of RN to MSN programs are also finding new homes online (AACN, 2015). These numbers are increasing based in part on the call from the IOM (2011) to increase BSN prepared nurses and to practice at the full extent of their license. Despite this growing demand and need for online programs that allow current RNs to further their education (undergraduate and graduate), faculty development in this rapidly expanding teaching modality is often limited. Faculty teaching in these online and hybrid courses need training in designing and delivering effective high quality online learning environments (Lloyd, Byrne, & McCoy, 2012).

A faculty development initiative to obtain expert training and consultation for faculty development in a well-researched framework called Community of Inquiry (CoI) ensued. The framework is aimed at improving collaborative learning and teaching in blended and online courses. The SoN Distance Education Work Group developed recommandations related to faculty development in online pedagogies and specifically the CoIframework: 1) Incorporate the CoI model as a framework for faculty development initiatives and 2) provide faculty with ongoing training and/or education in emerging technologies and teaching strategies to support them in meeting school-established standards for course development and delivery in hybrid and/or online courses.

A workshop, with a main objective to engage OHSU undergraduate and graduate faculty in a two day training and development experience focused on the components of CoI, occurred January 5th and 6th, 2017. This workshop provided opportunities for faculty from multiple campuses and programs to apply CoI strategies in their own courses and classrooms. Workshop feedback was very positive with valuable recommendations for continuing the SON’s engagement with CoI strategies. Faculty who attended the workshop formed a steering committee with the goals to develop systematic communication processes and ongoing integration of CoI across our 6 campuses. Follow-up discussions on CoI theory and research occurred via Adobe Connect in June. Ongoing discussion in online forums are now being implemented by the steering committee members, with plans to expand access to all SON faculty.

As a result of this activity, it was agreed that an Instructor Version of the CoI measurement instrument, used as a training exercise in this workshop, would be tested in the School of Nursing at OHSU in the Fall of 2017. This version of the CoI will be validated with data from this sample and two other data collection venues also engaged in workshops with M. Cleveland-Innes: Mid-Sweden University and the Open University of China. For further information, contact:

It' been so much fun working on this project. I so appreciate Marti's support and guidance. Here openness and sense of humor invite true collegial exchange of ideas. And I've keep learning and exploring my expression of CoI in courses, as well as returning to the framework to help me guide learning activity design/redesign.

Our group is clicking and I feel energized by the on-going conversations and unfolding opportunities to contribute to scholarship.Annette

Dr. Martha Cleveland-Innes is Professor and Chair in the Center for Distance Education at Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada. She studied the sociology of education at the University of Calgary where she developed her strong views on the importance of high quality education in the development of healthy societies with a well-developed citizenry. Her commitment to open and distance learning is rooted in this perspective; education must be accessible, affordable, and of high quality for everyone, anywhere.Evidence-based practice with sound theory is a main driver in Martha’s scholarly work. She is a principal researcher on the Community of Inquiry framework for online and blended learning, which is designed to maximize deep learning and provide students with a learning experience that is developmental and sustainable. She is co-author of a book on the topic with Drs. N. Vaughan and D.R. Garrison: Teaching in Blended Learning Environments: Creating and Sustaining Communities of Inquiry. Martha held a major research grant from the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council which supported rigorous empirical tests on the value of this framework.

iMOOCs and Learning to Learn OnlineMartha Cleveland-Innes, Nathaniel Ostashewski, Dan WiltonAugust 25, 2017 Athabasca University is known for its leadership and innovation in distance education. The emergence of MOOCs was of both interest and concern;